National Insurance Company Limited vs Dharambir Singh (since deceased) through LRs.

Vijender Singh Malik, J.—This is an appeal brought by National Insurance Company Limited, the insurer against the award dated 21.08.2000 passed by learned Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Rewari (for short ''the Tribunal''). Dharambir Singh, the claimant sought compensation in the case for the death of Ashok Kumar. The claim petition brought by Dharambir Singh has been allowed by learned Tribunal vide the impugned award in a sum of Rs. 1,63,600/-. The impugned award has been challenged by the insurer on two grounds. The first ground is that the driver of the offending vehicle had been possessing a learner''s licence, which was not a licence in the eyes of law and the insurance company has to be exonerated from its liability under the insurance policy. The second point is that while assessing dependency of the claimants, no deduction has been made from the income of the deceased. Learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that 50% should have been the dependency of the claimants and, therefore, compensation has been wrongly assessed. On the first ground as mentioned above, he has cited before me a decision of Hon''ble Supreme Court of India in New Indian Assurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Mandar Madhav Tambe and others, . It is a case where the driver of the offending vehicle was possessing a learner''s licence and it has been held that no liability can be fixed upon the insurance company under the insurance policy.

Learned counsel for the respondents have submitted on the other hand that Rs. 800/- per month has not been the income of the deceased but contribution of the deceased towards his family. According to them, no deduction has to be made therefrom while assessing compensation. They have further submitted that a learner''s licence is a licence for all purposes and it cannot be ignored and on the basis of the fact that the driver of the offending vehicle was possessing a learner''s licence, the insurance company can not be absolved of its liability. He has cited before me a decision of Hon''ble Supreme Court of India in National Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Swaran Singh and Others, where it is laid down that if a vehicle at the time of the accident was driven by a person, who was holding a learner''s licence, the insurance company would not be liable to satisfy the decree.

It is a fact that Virender Singh, respondent No. 1 was possessing a learner''s licence at the time of the accident. The decision in Mandar Madhav Tambe''s case, supra has though been distinguished in Swaran Singh''s case, supra yet the ratio of that case would not apply to the facts of this case. In Mandar Madhav Tambe''s case, supra the insurance policy had a clear condition whereunder the vehicle was to be driven by a person holding a valid driving licence or a permanent driving licence other than a learner''s licence. In view of this clear stipulation, which is not there in this case, the insurance company could be exonerated from its liability. However, the facts are different in the case in hand and as is laid down in Swaran Singh''s case supra, the learners'' licence is a licence for all purposes and the insurance company cannot be escape from liability to satisfy the award on the ground that the driver of the offending vehicle was possessing a learner''s licence.

Ashok Kumar, the deceased has been a student of 10 + 2. He was 19 years of age. He was, therefore, a non-earning person. Whatever is found as the income of the deceased is his contribution to his family, from which no deduction could be made. In this regard, I may seek support from two decisions of Hon''ble Supreme Court of India in Lata Wadhwa and Others Vs. State of Bihar and Others, and Kishan Gopal and Another Vs. Lala and Others, . In these circumstances, deduction of no amount from Rs. 800/- per month while assessing dependency of the claimants is no fault on the part of learned Tribunal. The compensation has, thus, been rightly assessed. For the aforesaid reasons, I do not find any ground to interfere with the findings of learned Tribunal on the aforesaid points. Hence, finding no merit in the appeal, I dismiss the same.